


Shingeki no Fallout

by PipBoy3000



Series: Shingeki no Fallout [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-08
Updated: 2014-09-28
Packaged: 2018-02-16 16:53:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2277426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PipBoy3000/pseuds/PipBoy3000
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the setting of a nuclear fallout, main character Armin Arlert finds fault with the ways of his underground society and looks to make a change. Mikasa has a strong motherly love for Armin, following him wherever he goes. Eren, Armin's best friend follows as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Outside World

"The Great War," our teacher began, "is why we are in here today."

I wrote notes down as she spoke. Mikasa looked blankly at the wall and Eren struggled to keep his eyes open. It was 10:00 at night after all. "In 2077, nuclear erupted throughout the world, but America was prepared from a program that created vaults two decades before." The entire class looked exhausted from listening, but I leaned forward to hear more. "Believe it or not, this Vault wasn't always here! Humanity had to escape underground so that we could survive the nuclear apocalypse." My hand shot up. The teacher gave out a large sigh, "Yes, Armin?" I quickly adjusted my posture and asked, "Does that mean there are other Vaults out there? With societies just like ours?"

"Correct," she answered. "The nuclear war was hundreds of years ago, but humanity has been able to survive through the safety of the Vault. Each Vault holds roughly a thousand people and regulates that population through reproduction." My hand shot up again. Eren rolled his eyes next to me and whispered, "Shut up, Armin." The teacher reluctantly called on me again. I adjusted my posture again and asked, "Does this mean that we can escape the Vault? We could recolonize the world! Nuclear radiation only lasts roughly..." "Detention," she fired back. "There shall be no talk of 'escaping' in my class."

Mikasa gave our teacher a hostile look from behind me. "Why can't we escape? Is there something you're hiding from us?" The teacher’s face grew increasingly annoyed. "Every Vault can survive for up to 900 years. We are safe now. We can't risk our Vault being destroyed by radiation. Detention for you as well." Mikasa looked unphased. I whispered to her, "Mikasa, no." She ignores me. "Armin is the smartest kid here in the vault, probably smarter than all of the adults too. He says that the radiation from the nuclear fallout should have cleared by now." The teacher slammed her fists on the desk and shouted, "WE CAN'T RISK HUMANITY BEING WIPED OUT."

I looked to Eren next to me and he looked nervous. "Wouldn't you rather escape this small vault and explore the world?" The teacher was done. "That's enough. Detention for all three of you." My heart started beating faster. There's an outside world. We don't have to live in this cramped Vault. "Class is dismissed. You three stay." The kids started filing out, laughing at us as they walked. Mikasa was still staring at the teacher with hostility. "Since you guys are kids, I won't report you to the Overseer," the teacher began, "but you kids should know that we are safe here and we DON'T need to escape." I nodded, showing the teacher I understood what she was saying. On the inside my curiosity grew.

I looked back at Mikasa to see if she was still staring down the teacher. Her eyes were in another place, but I couldn't quite connect to where she was looking. An announcement came on the communications network, "Meeting in the Main Hall. All adults required to attend." Our teacher swore under her breath. "You kids stay here, I'll be back in 20 minutes." Eren chuckled but I quickly hit him to shut him up. The teacher darted out the room, but Mikasa's gaze held steady towards the front of the room. "Armin." I looked at her. "Yes?" She nodded towards the front of the room and got up to walk towards the teacher's desk. Buried in a pile of papers, she threw her hand under to uncover an old book.

She smiled and tossed it to me. It hit my chest and fell onto my lap, my eyes connecting to the title immediately. "The Vault," I said out loud. Eren stood up and came over to me, looking at the book with curious eyes. This will tell us everything about the Vault. "Open it, Armin," Eren commanded, his eyes still on the book.

My hands reached towards the cover and I slowly turned to the first page. The chapter read, "Getting in and out of the Vault." My heart raced. I heard Eren swallow and Mikasa catch her breath. I read out loud, "Every command center has a switch hidden underneath the main desk. The switch opens a hidden door directly behind the Overseer's chair, leading to the airlock to the outside of the vault." My heart beat faster. "During a nuclear fallout, residents are encouraged to stay inside the vault until radiation subsides, lasting up to 200 years." Mikasa's eyes widen as she confirmed what I'm thinking, "Armin, the war that our educator was talking about was in 2077. The Vault should open at 2277." Eren buried his face into his hands and muttered quietly, "That was 50 years ago."

Footsteps outside. My mind darted everywhere trying to find the answer. Why are we here? Why didn't we leave sooner? Has the world recovered? Has the world been destroyed? Mikasa snatched the book and stuffed it into her Vault jumpsuit as the door opened to reveal the Overseer. "Hey kids, get into trouble lately?" He smiles. Mikasa's eyes are wide as she stared at him, trying to find the answer to why we are still in the Vault in his eyes. He chuckled, his eyes heavy from sleepless nights. Eren's face grew hostile. Eren, please don't. Despite knowing that upsetting the Overseer spells obliteration, he shouted, "When is humanity ready to leave the Vault?" The Overseer's expression remained the same. "In time, my child." With that, he left the room and talked to his second-in-command. I sneaked to the door to hear what he said.

Pressing my ear against the door, I heard the Overseer say, "Keep an eye on those kids. They might get some... ideas." Eren exhaled heavily. "They're hiding something. We have to get out of here." Mikasa immediately eased him by saying, "We've lived here our entire lives, we can at least wait until the end of detention before making a life altering choice." I felt the metal walls closing in on me as I thought about how open the world could be. We had to get out of there. I immediately spoke up, "How are we going to get into the Overseer's office? There's always a security guard there." Mikasa looked at the ground with heavy eyes while Eren looked at me with a deep sadness. "You can't possibly be thinking...," I started to protest.

Mikasa, with her eyes still directed at the ground, says "There's something wrong here, Armin. People are disappearing. They're REGULATING the population. They put on happy faces during the day but I'm concerned for what they do at night." Her eyes lifted to meet mine. "We're next." My parents both disappeared... the Overseer assured me it was illness. I started to hyperventilate as I looked towards the book that Mikasa extracted from her jumpsuit. Eren grabbed it and started flipping through the pages. My eyes closed and my head rested in my hands as Mikasa rubbed my back and whispered, "It's going to be alright, Armin. I won't let anything happen to you." I smiled and my chest tingled. My breathing started to regulate under the assurance that I'd be safe under Mikasa's protection. Eren stopped flipping through the pages and read aloud "Instructions for the Overseer's eyes only."

I wrapped my arms around Mikasa and she continued to rub my back as Eren read, "Population is the biggest flaw in the Vault system. Denying people their natural right to reproduce will cause havoc. Regulate the population to a thousand people at all costs. Silent disposal or condemnation is recommended." It had to be soon. We've lived here our entire lives but we have to leave soon. I buried my face into Mikasa's neck and Eren continued, "The Vault is an experiment, not a guaranteed haven of survival. Lack of food and sanity may lead to rebellions within the Vault." Tears flowed from my eyes as I realized how I've been tricked my entire life. Mikasa put her head on mine and prevented herself from crying so that she wouldn’t lose her strict composure. She spoke up after Eren put down the book, "We leave tomorrow. Get your things and meet me in my room tonight, we all sleep together."

Footsteps outside again. We all dispersed and sat in our seats as I wiped tears from my eyes. Our teacher entered and saw my tears. "Alright it looks like you've learned your lesson. Detention is over." We all left the room finally and walked down the hall to the stairs. I saw a guard by the stairs and my arms started to shake. Mikasa moved closer to me and whispered, "Don't lose your composure." I had to be strong. Strong for Mikasa. I held my arm and it eventually stopped shaking as I leaned closer to Mikasa for comfort. Eren looked at me with concern and I nodded to assure him that I'm alright. We passed the guard and he joyfully says, "Hey kids! How was class?" I looked at his face carefully. He looked stupidly happy like there was nothing wrong with the way we were living. Eren stepped up and smiled to answer, "We learned a ton of stuff from history! Thanks for asking!" The guard chuckled and patted him on the back as we passed. Eren's smile immediately dropped and his face looked grim. We declined down the stairs to the living area. Jean, leader of a gang in the Vault, leaned against the wall as we attempted to pass him. He stepped forward and cut us off, tossing a baseball with his right hand. Mikasa locked eyes with him and said nothing. Jean laughed and said, "It's a little late, you guys should be heading to sleep soon. It would be a shame if you were walking down the hall alone." Mikasa molded her hand into a fist and continued staring at him. Jean's eyes widened as he recognized Mikasa's strength. "Just... be careful next time," he quickly muttered and ran away. Mikasa stopped us and distributed the orders, "We all meet in my room in twenty minutes. Grab food, supplies, medication..." She paused. "And weapons," Eren finished. She nodded and repeated, "Twenty minutes." We dispersed but as soon as Mikasa left I felt vulnerable. Jean lived in the bunk across from Eren and Jean despised Eren. I hoped everyone was alright. I hurried to my room and started gathering supplies. I reached under my bed to pull out a briefcase with my dad's hat and suit.

I opened the briefcase and grabbed a medical stimpak from across the room and stuffed it in. Now water. I grabbed a soda and a handful of bottled water and stuffed them into the briefcase. Weapons... I sat on the bed and checked the time. I had 10 minutes to find a weapon. I thought the kids in Jean's gang had a ton of weapons... I just had to get them undetected. My heart rate started accelerating as I stepped back into the hall and crossed to the room of Jean's friend. I entered cautiously, crouched and hugging the wall. Was he asleep? It was an hour since class ended and it was fairly late. I saw a dim light in the corner of the room. He was typing something into the computer and he was facing the wall. He was awake. My eyes scanned the room trying to find a weapon. I looked towards his bed on the other side of the room. A BB-gun sat polished on his bed with a box of rounds resting next to it. I hugged the wall opposite to where he was sitting and started moving slowly around the room. If I got caught, he was going to beat the shit out of me. I made sure not to drag my feet on the floor, slowly lifting my feet and stepping cautiously so that I didn’t knock over anything. Eventually I made it across the room to his bed. He was typing into his computer and cackling, likely ranting about how he beat some kid up today. The BB-gun had metal rounds, enough to do some serious damage to any attacker if I were to break out. I heard more cackling and typing as I reached for the weapon and the rounds. I lifted them slowly off the bed with my eyes on the dim light across from me to make sure he wasn’t looking around. I successfully picked them up and made sure not to exhale just yet. I put the rounds into my jumpsuit and carried the large rifle as I sneaked back around the room. I watched the dim screen to see if he noticed, stepping slowly across the room. The door was within 5 feet of me until I tripped on a box and tumbled onto the floor. The lights turned on and he stood up. I stumbled to get up, looking to see his face. His nostrils flared and his eyes looked so menacing that I was afraid they might scorch me. "Armin, you little shit. I'm going to fucking kill you and paint the walls with your insides." I screamed at the top of my lungs, "MIKASA! HELP!!!" He sprinted across the room before I fully got up and picked me up by the collar and held me against the wall. His hands fastened around my throat and I saw his eyes turn red and his frown turning into a smile. He was fucking crazy. I tried to scream for Mikasa again but I couldn’t breathe. I struggled as he held  me up against the wall. I saw the BB-gun on the floor a few feet away. I kicked him in his stomach with all the force I could muster and he dropped me, staggering back. I gasped for air and jumped across the room for the BB-gun. I pointed it at him and fired as he tried to stand. He cried in pain as the metal pierced his open skin, making his arm burst out with blood.

Tears ran down my cheek as I realized how badly I hurt that boy. I went to pick up the rounds and reloaded the BB-gun in case he attacked again. His head lifted up and he looked at me with hate. He attempted to get up to fight but I raised the gun as he did. "You win," he spat, "don't shoot me again." Still in shock, I lowered the gun and looked at him with wide eyes. He looked behind me then immediately looked down. I felt a light hand on my shoulder. Mikasa... I turned to see her face, but my heart turned to ice. The Overseer.

 

 

His face was calm and he smiled. "Stealing things are we, Mr. Arlert?" I was paralyzed. The Overseer looked to the boy who was holding his arm in pain and then looked to me, the same smile mocking me. He took the BB-gun out of my hands. "Why don't you come with me, son." I was still paralyzed as he started walking out to the hall. He looked back at me with his unchanged smile. "Now." My legs started to work and I followed him into the hall. He walked towards the stairs, likely leading me to his office. I made the Overseer angry. I was done for. My face turned white and my heart started racing as we walked down the hall. I passed Mikasa's room and she looked at me with wide eyes. A tear slipped down my cheek as I looked towards the stairs. We climbed the stairs and he said nothing. At the top we moved towards his office which overlooked the Main Hall. We approached the door and I noticed the security guard was off duty. He opened the door and let me in, closing it afterwards but not locking it.

He placed the BB-gun on the table and looked at me. Another tear moved down my cheek. His expression still calm, he asked, "So you want to explore the world?" I looked down at the floor. "Sit down." I obeyed and moved towards the chair as he sat at his desk, the door behind him. "Is that the reason you've been acting up, Mr. Arlert?" I slowly nodded as more tears filled my eyes. My head rose to see him looking fanatically at the BB-gun. He looked back at me with his smile. "There's no escape, Mr. Arlert. When you enter the Vault, you can't escape." Lies. I've read it. The switch was under his desk. I nodded, but he saw the disgust on my face. He looked back at the BB-gun. "There's no way out," he repeated. I look down. He suddenly grabbed the BB-gun, pointed it at me and shot all in an instant, hitting my arm. I fell out of the chair in pain, grabbing my arm and crying furiously. "No escape," he repeated calmly. He reloaded and shot once more, hitting me in the chest. I screamed but he lunged at me and put his hand over my mouth.

"There's nothing you can do Mr. Arlert. Your fate is sealed." He reloaded the BB-gun with one hand on my mouth and shot my leg. I saw red as the veins in my forehead practically popped out of my skin. The pain was overwhelming but I couldn’t scream it out. He reloaded again and repeated, "There is no escape Mr. Arlert." The door creaked open behind him but he was too occupied to notice. He pointed the BB-gun at my other leg, his whole body on top of me. Once more he said, "Mr. Arlert, you cannot escape.” I closed my eyes and waited for him to pull the trigger but I felt his body stiffen on top of mine. I opened my eyes to see blood flowing from his neck, dripping down to his shirt and onto me. I looked behind him to see Mikasa thrusting a knife into his body and tears running down her cheek. She sobbed, "There is an escape Armin. There's always an escape." She smiled with tears rapidly running down her cheek as the Overseer fell to the side. Eren ran through the door with my briefcase, his backpack, and Mikasa's bag. He saw the blood and tears formed in his eyes.

Crying now, he said, "We're leaving." With Mikasa still sobbing on top of me, Eren lunged towards the desk and slid under it, finding the switch. I hugged Mikasa and she hugged me back, both of us torn by the life we had to leave and the morals we had to change. Was it a life at all, though? Eren pulled the switch and sirens started going off throughout the Vault. The wall next to the door started to separate, showing a room with an airlock. I released the hug to look at the Main Hall. Multiple people filled the hall and guards were running towards the Overseer's office. I sobbed and quickly said, "We have to go, Mikasa." She looked up and noticed people running towards us. She immediately regained her composure and lunged for the Overseer's pistol on his belt. I picked up the BB-gun and the rounds and darted towards my suitcase that Eren dropped on the other side of the room. Mikasa lunged at her bag and Eren grabbed his backpack and we all filed into the airlock. People filled into the room as Eren made it into the airlock, closing the door behind him. We heard banging on the door and gunshots but the door was made of metal. We were fine. I noticed a distinct switch next to the door opposite to the metal door leading to the Overseer's office. The outside world. Mikasa, with her composure fully recovered, moved towards it and looked back at us. She smiled and asked, "Are you ready?" Eren and I looked at eachother. He smiled and says, "Well it would be a shame if we turned back now." I smiled too. "I'm ready Mikasa," Eren answered. "Me too," I added. She moved towards the switch and placed her hand on it, understanding what it meant when she pulled it. "The outside world," she muttered to herself. After a brief pause she pulled the switch and the large circular door in front of us sprung to life. Gears turned and pipes fumed and we all watched in amazement. Air filled into the room and dust blew in. The door made a distinct clicking noise and swayed open. A single candle lit the cave we saw before us, sand leading up to a wooden door at the end of the cave.

 

 


	2. Goodsprings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio finally made it outside of the vault and start to explore the world before them. The landscape seems rough and corroded, but the trio finds hope in a bright sign reading "Goodsprings."

We stepped onto the sand and moved towards the old wooden door. Eren moved to open it, the excitement evident in his movements. He pulled the hinge and the door swung open and we all stepped outside to see the world. The mountains in the near distance defined the landscape, and lights were bright in the darkness, miles away. The sand blew at our feet and the desert was alive with noise. Eren looked at the sky, and my eyes followed his. Stars illuminated the night and the moon shined brighter than I would ever imagine it to be. Eren wrapped his elbows around our necks and said, "We made it." Wind blew to fill my lungs and I smiled and cried because I've never tasted real air before. We’ve made it. I read a sign in the distance as Mikasa and Eren look at the moon. Outloud I read, "Goodsprings." My heart raced as I asked, "Do you think that could be a town? With... people?!" Mikasa looked at me with eyes brighter than I've ever seen them before and nodded. We started walking through the night towards Goodsprings. The sirens from inside the Vault began to disappear the farther we got, leaving memories of our old life behind us. We moved through the sand as three, confident in what the world had to bring us. Vehicles and old signs littered the wasteland. I noticed what the vehicles were from a book I read years ago. "Those are cars." Eren looked at me with confusion. I continued, "Yea, cars. They are motor operated and transport people from one place to another. Everyone had one it seemed." But the cars I saw were nothing like the descriptions in the books. There were no wheels(the wheels probably disintegrated), the doors were blown off and the body of the cars were all rusted beyond repair. Not one car worked. I heard a hissing in the distance. Thinking it was the wind, we continue to Goodsprings, almost a mile away now.

Mikasa's hand was on her gun, though. Her suspicion of the hissing got the best of her. Eren began to say something but was immediately cut off by a loud hissing. Mikasa pulled out her gun and pointed it in the direction where the hissing came. Eren and I moved back as Mikasa moved past us with confidence. Eren reached into his bag and pulled out some sort of device and turned it on, the light showing us what was before us. A scorpion. A scorpion with its body bigger than me and its tail towering over Mikasa. It hissed again and Mikasa jolted back. She pointed the gun at its body, waiting for it to make a move. I pulled out my BB-gun and Eren grabbed his knife and fastened his device to his arm. Mikasa held her 5mm pistol in confidence, believing that she was stronger than anything in her way. The scorpion jumped towards her but she stood firm, firing a shot at its body. The huge scorpion recoiled back and lets out a distinctive scream. The gunshot rang in the distance. We had to get out of there before we attracted more attention. The scorpion attacked again but this time Eren lunged at it with a knife. The scorpion was easily just as big as Eren but he still had the courage to attack it. He jumped on top of it and repeatedly stabbed its body, it’s stinger attempting to hit him but missing. Mikasa shot it again and it jumped back, Eren still on top of it. I lifted my BB-gun, and aimed for its stinger. I shivered just looking at it, and the gun shook as I shivered. I finally pulled the trigger but distinctively missed and cursed under my breath.

Eren continued to stab it and it screamed and hissed. I moved closer and reloaded, aiming again at its stinger. Mikasa screamed, "Get off of it, Eren!" He refused to listen, repeatedly stabbing its body and its stinger attempting to hit him. I fired again, missing. "Shit," I said louder this time. I reloaded quickly and jumped closer still. I took aim again. Mikasa shrieked, "Get OFF of it, Eren!!!" I aimed for its stinger and fired. I missed for a third time. The scorpion gave up on fighting Eren and found a new target: me. I was too close to back away, the scorpion whose body was as big as mine and its stinger dripping with poison seized my right leg with its stinger. I couldn't react in time. It pierced my leg and my heart felt like it stopped from the immense amount of pain. I looked at the stinger in confusion as I saw blood pouring out of my leg. The pain numbed as I lost feeling in my body and fell over. Eren stabbed the scorpion again, this time killing it. Tears flowed through Mikasa's eyes as she screamed and sputtered an array of words that had no correlation with each other. My eyes closed and I felt the stinger retract from my leg. I felt my body getting picked up and heavy feet moving below me. "We made it, Mikasa," I whispered under my breath. She listened and sobbed. Eren shouted for someone to help, but no answer came. Soon, I couldn't even hear anymore. I just felt the tears of Mikasa falling on my cheek as she ran with me in her arms towards Goodsprings. Then I fell unconscious.

 

I awoke in an uncomfortable bed from what seemed like days later. My eyes fluttered open and my vision cleared to find myself in an old shack with holes in the walls and dust flying in through the window. Mikasa, who was sitting sleepily across the room, immediately jumped to the side of my bed. “Armin, are you alright? How do you feel?” Rolling my eyes, I respond,“I feel fine, Mikasa.” Then I noticed something wrong. “I don’t feel pain in my right leg, Mikasa. Am I on meds?” Tears collected in her eyes as she watched my hand moved down to feel my leg. What I felt shocked me more than anything I’ve ever experienced. My leg was… gone. I looked at her in disbelief. She broke down crying, “I’m sorry Armin. I couldn’t run fast enough and the poison spread through your leg.” Unable to cry, I lay paralyzed on my bed looking back down at the stub that was once my leg. Mikasa laid next to me with her arms wrapped around me as my eyes stayed locked on my leg. “It’s been one day, Mikasa. It’s been one day and my leg is already gone. Maybe we should’ve stayed.” Her grip grew tighter as she saw the tears forming in my eyes. “It’s been one day, Mikasa,” I repeat. My gaze reached towards the ceiling. One day, I thought. Tears streamed down my cheek as the immense sadness took over. I heard Mikasa sob from my side as she hugged me tighter. Despite the depression that controlled me, her presence made me feel better. Her head crawled up from my neck to my cheek, and she kissed it lightly. My arms finally wrapped around her and I smiled, thankful to have a friend like her. I heard footsteps outside, expecting it to be Eren. A boy and girl around our age entered instead. They both wore ranger hats and dressed with suspenders and undershirts. The girl had her mouth full and a potato was occupying her hand. The boy looked at her with bright eyes; he liked her alot. Mikasa got up quickly and introduced them. “Armin, this is Sasha and Connie. They took you in after Eren and I ran into town for help.” They looked genuinely happy to see me. I lower my head and say, “Thank you for your hospitality, you are truly amazing people.” Connie stepped forward with a smirk and said, “Wait until you see what we made you!”

Sasha went outside and quickly returned with an awkwardly shaped steel rod. “We found this in an old facility and saved it for someone who might need it. Maybe it’ll fit on you?” I was confused. Fit on me? Is that supposed to be my leg? Connie lifted me up with ease and I marveled at his strength. He stood me up and let Sasha fasten the rod to my leg. “W-w-what are you doing?” I asked while wobbling around the rod. Sasha shot back, “HOLD STILL!” I obeyed as she strapped the rod on with one hand, a potato in the other.

“Alright, try that out!” Connie asked excitedly as he sat down next to Sasha to see me try to walk on this metal rod. I applied pressure to the rod. It held balance. Sasha clapped excitedly as Connie kissed her on the cheek. I took a step forward cautiously, and the rod continued to hold balance. I jumped up and down, amazed at how mobile I could be with it. I looked up to Sasha to see her fall backwards in joy. But through the excitement spreading around the room, I sensed something was wrong. “Eren. Where’s Eren?” The room went quiet. Sasha quickly put on a smile and said “I saw him an hour ago! He’s probably roaming around Goodsprings.” I walked over to the window to peer outside at the sunset. It would be getting dark soon. I stood up straight, even on my new artificial leg. "Let's go find Eren." Mikasa stood up straight, showing her composure and willingness to go find him. She looked to me with a strong smile. But when it came to Eren I saw weakness in her eyes. Connie was standing by now as well, saying, "He's probably right around the corner, we don't have to go worrying about him just yet." I wiped the last of the tears away from my face and exclaimed, "We don't know that for sure." Connie immediately lowered his composure and pointed to the door. "Be back before the ol' ferals start creeping out." Mikasa took me by the arm and moved me towards the door. But there was one thing I had to do first...

Without words, her hand tightened on the doorknob and threw the door open, the dim light of the sunset filling into the small cabin. But before she could step out I quickly moved to kiss her on the cheek as she did to me. But before her head turned with a likely look of surprise, I was already out onto the road with my BB-gun and the dirt and dust blowing into my face, limping towards the sunset. Mikasa immediately ran up to me and lifted my arm onto her shoulder to help me walk, a blush evident on her face. I laughed and she immediately followed up with a punch to my gut. Side by side, we made our way down the road to confirm that Eren wasn't in town. Mikasa bluntly stated, "Knowing him, he was probably out getting revenge on the radscorpions." I didn't know anything about this new world or the dangers it had to offer, so I honestly couldn't come up with an educated guess to where he disappeared to. "Let's head to where we last found the radscorpion then." My arm still over her shoulder, she helped me down the road for a few minutes until we finally arrived at the last place we fought the radscorpion. I looked down at my leg and imagined my toes wiggling and disappointedly looked at the dead radscorpion we killed last night. No signs of Eren appeared to be evident. While Mikasa stared intensely at the radscorpion, I started looking around the area. There were rusted cars and signed scattered along the den, but my eyes landed on something familiar. Eren had a small light on his wrist when he attacked the radscorpion, and a similar light eminated from an object buried in a mound of random metals. I limped over to it and picked it up, blowing off the dust to get a better look at it. The computerized screen had a picture of a cartoon boy and vital attributes next to it, with the distinct name "Pip-Boy 3000" engraved on the metal. Pip-Boys were accessories in the Vault given to individuals who passed the age of 18. The three of us being 16, I wonder how Eren got his hands on this. Mikasa came up behind me and saw the Pip-Boy, relieved but concerned. "That's Erens! He was here!" My eyes scan the floor, finding footsteps hardly evident in the sand. Fastening the Pip-Boy to my wrist, I look over to Mikasa. "Follow this trail, it could be Eren." She nods and follows me, careful not to mess up the tracks. The sunlight was almost gone, but I was certain we could find Eren in time for night.

The vital signs lit up on the Pip-Boy's screen and I turned on the flashlight so that we could see better. I pointed my wrist towards the ground and started following the trail. We made our way a few meters up a small hill to find that the footsteps turned into something different. It looked as if... "HE WAS DRAGGED," Mikasa shouted. My eyes widening, I kept on the trail. We made it to the top of the hill only to find a long flat plain of sand. I looked down at the trail. It led straight into the desert. My feet started moving again, watching the tracks closely, seeing that Eren was struggling(the marks in the sand moving from side to side). Mikasa and I kept on the trail for another 4 minutes until she let out a scream. Blood stained the sand. The wind started to blow. The sky was now dark, marking night. We started running now, following the trail sloppily. When I got confused Mikasa would just run straight ahead of me, regardless of the trail. Nevertheless, we made our way deeper into the desert. The trail stopped abruptly. Tears formed in my eyes. "Mikasa!!" I yelled, "the trail stopped." Without looking back, her knees hit the ground and her face was buried in her hands. The wind blew harder.

I looked in disbelief as the trail just... vanished. Mikasa sobbed a few meters ahead of me, her side hitting the ground as she cried hysterically. This couldn't happen... the trail couldn't just... cut? Mikasa whined and cried, sand filling her mouth as the wind started to pick up even harder. My balance was put off by the strong winds, knocking me over and rolling me a few meters away. "M-Mikasa!!" In the middle of her hysterical fit, she noticed what was happening. A desert storm. I planted my false leg into the sand as far as it would go, keeping me from blowing away. "GET OVER HERE, MIKASA!" She attempted standing, but was knocked over by the exponentially increasing levels of wind. "ARMIN!" she shouted, crawling through the sand to me. She came within a meter of me and I reached for her hand. Sand and dust were twirling around us in a mocking dance as we attempted to keep breathing through this nightmare. Her hand lifted and met mine, a small smile forming on her face. Tears streaming down my cheek and sand blowing in my face, I inched her closer to me until we were less than a meter apart. My artificial leg remained planted in the ground as Mikasa was struggling to keep herself up. Less than a meter to go.

My vision blurred through the windy sandcloud we were in, and a tall armored body emerged behind Mikasa and into my distorted view. After a quick look at what was happening, the masked person drew their rifle and struck Mikasa in the head. Tears poured down my cheek as I screamed at the top of my lungs, my throat quickly being filled with sand. The person quickly moved to me and I looked to them, the end of the rifle quickly hitting me in the face and knocking me unconscious, my last waking memory being the trickle of blood down my nose and the burning of the sand in my eyes and throat.

  
  



End file.
